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Workers exploited in homes and embassies

Cleaners working long hours for low pay in private homes have no clear pathway to report their exploitation or seek redress, a federal parliamentary inquiry has heard.

Anti-Slavery Australia Director Jennifer Burn told the inquiry into slavery and human trafficking that workers such as cleaners, child carers and cooks were employed in about nine per cent of Australian homes.

They could be young Australian students or foreign visitors with little English and in some cases could be expected to work up to six and a half days for very low pay, she told the inquiry in Sydney on Monday.

There was a gap in support for them, with no practical pathway to reparation, Associate Professor Burn said.

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If such workers were criminally exploited - unable to leave the workplace and coerced to work - that would be a crime of forced labour and protections would be available to them, she said.

"But if they are exploited to a lesser level, working long hours, free to come and go, free to change work but not paid very much, there doesn't seem to be a readily available remedy for them."

Prof Burn said the Fair Work Ombudsman treated such workers as independent contractors and therefore they were not covered by the ombudsman.

Domestic workers could pursue civil lawsuits, but that was difficult for low-paid workers or those with little English.

"We must do something to ensure ... that those exploited in private homes do have a pathway to reparation and support because currently there's no pathway," Prof Burn told the inquiry.

She later told AAP there was also an issue with embassies exploiting domestic workers allowed to come into Australia outside usual work visa requirements.

"It's expected they would be paid in accordance with Australian standards and conditions, but that might not always be the case.

"There certainly have been reports of exploitation of domestic workers in embassies."

Prof Burn said Australian officials had to actively engage with embassies to ensure Australian standards were known and followed.